After the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in July, the makers of
Gangster Squad pulled the film from its initial September release date for retooling —
specifically to re-shoot a scene of gunplay that originally took place in a movie theater.

One might think that, with all the time and money required, someone on the production would have
considered it in the context of the big picture, so to speak. But, as the film that arrives in
theaters today reveals, deep thought is not in its arsenal.

Set in 1949 and “inspired” by real events, the latest film from
Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer follows the exploits of John O’Mara (Josh Brolin), a
World War II veteran and one of the few honest cops in a Los Angeles Police Department that has
been mostly bought and paid for by ruthless gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).

O’Mara is enlisted by the chief of police (Nick Nolte) to form a secret cadre of other good cops
and take down Cohen’s criminal empire by any means necessary. He taps dapper lady’s man Jerry
Wooters (Ryan Gosling), along with a former Army intelligence officer (Giovanni Ribisi), a beat cop
who is dead-on with a switchblade (Anthony Mackie), an old-school sharpshooter (Robert Patrick) and
his Mexican-American partner (Michael Pena).

Fleischer applies his familiar visceral flash to the visuals of a story told by screenwriter
Will Beall in strokes that are broad, bloody and flecked with brain matter. Although he can pull
off a clever quip, Beall depicts a world that seems more like a 1940s gangster film than 1940s
Hollywood.

When combined with a high-gloss surface and a superior cast that is often wasted, with Emma
Stone as the moll shared by Mickey and Jerry, scenes of a body torn in half by cars and an
amputation by elevator shaft suggest there’s little point to the film other than inventive
carnage.

Despite the other violent movies showing in theaters,
Gangster Squad leads the pack in stylish emptiness. Especially given the film’s history,
gorgeous period details can sweeten only so much of its bad taste.